There are various dual sided radio designs, but existing designs have generally failed to adequately balance the need to provide controls and user interface elements on a single side of the radio with appropriate requirements in terms of the size and usability of keypads, displays, and speaker porting for a particular design. Appropriate sizing of keypads, displays and speaker ports are often in conflict with the general trend towards miniaturization and a drive towards minimizing radio sizes and volumetric efficiency. Furthermore, the geometry of a one-sided design will often limit the ability to arrange internal components in a manner that can be efficient for modularity. In the context of two-way radios or cellular phones, modularity can mean provisioning of alternative or optional functional components within a particular radio design. Modularity can enhance customization for users having specific requirements and also enables other users as well as manufacturers to save costs by eliminating components or modules that are not going to be used. Providing modularity under current size constraints and other functional constraints has generally forced many manufacturers to compromise significantly in terms of design functionality, particularly with respect to keypads, displays, and speaker porting.
Most radio designs are “keypad/display dominant” in form factor where the side most naturally oriented toward the user during push-to-talk (PTT) or transmit operations is the keypad/display side. When the user faces the keypad/display a PTT button is on the left and a loudspeaker is on the “rear” of the product. As dual or multi-sided radios are required to provide increased functionality to both sides of the radio, the need arises for an optimized user interface.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a multi-sided radio having a user-friendly interface with modular capability, while addressing the challenges ease of assembly and manufacturability.